Tomos Prys was born in Plas Iolyn, Pentrefoelas. He spent a lot of time in London where he lost a great deal of his money. However, he managed to buy a ship and sailed to the Caribbean Sea, where he fought with Spanish ships. He once, helped to capture a Spanish ship off the Canary Islands. On board the ship there was a load of tobacco, and Tomos Prys used to claim that he and his friends were the first people to smoke in public on the streets of London. He took part in military attacks in Holland, France, Germany, Ireland and Scotland. His main interests were music and writing poetry.